Wool and other types of animal hair are used in many items, such as in yarn, garments, and blankets. Before wool (i.e., the hair from sheep, llamas, alpacas and other animals with similar hair) or other animal hair can be processed into such useful articles, it first must be shorn from the animal and treated to remove impurities, such as suint (sheep sweat and salt), grease (such as organic fatty acids), and surface soiling (such as dirt and vegetable matter). Wool scouring, one of the first wool processing steps, is used to remove suint and grease from the un-processed wool. Surface soiling may also be removed during scouring.
Additionally, animal skins, such as sheepskin and its related products have a wide variety of uses. For example, sheepskin is used for certain medical purposes, including covering and protecting wounds and sheepskin rugs are used for long-term, bed ridden patients in hospitals and managed care facilities. Sheepskin also has been used to make seat covers for automobile seats.
Sheepskin laundering is more complex than washing cotton or synthetic articles because it is mainly composed of proteins, which are sensitive to a variety of laundering conditions. For example, both the washing temperature and composition of the cleaning agent can drastically affect the integrity of sheepskin, both during and after laundering.
Sheepskin-laundering compositions typically evaporate during the washing process, thereby decreasing their overall laundering effectiveness. This is especially apparent during high-temperature laundering, where such washing dries out and/or otherwise damages the article's fibers, eventually ruining the sheepskin after several washes. High-temperature laundering is required in many settings, particularly in hospitals for thermal disinfection. Furthermore, non-thermal disinfection typically requires the application of enzymes, phosphates, alkalis, peroxide, or bleach, any one of which may damage the tanned component of sheepskin. This has limited the use of sheepskin and related wool products in these environments.